


Like cold coffee in the morning

by lebensvoll



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, And they were study partners, Baz doesn't know how to drink coffee, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, More like they are both very tired and need some love, Simon is a coffee snob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lebensvoll/pseuds/lebensvoll
Summary: Simon enjoys working at the coffee shop and struggles with his uni courses. He had blissful six months free from the feud and pranks, but now his one and only nemesis Baz Pitch is back after his semester abroad. Will they continue fighting or can they actually be civil with each other? And the most important question: will Baz start drinking coffee without sugar?
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dusuessekartoffel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dusuessekartoffel/gifts).



> This is my first (and probably last) fic ever. I am only doing this because my very dear friend Lou has a birthday today. Her message to the world is "Everyone can write" and I wanted to make her happy, so that’s how we ended up here. I apologize in advance for this nonsense. Happy birthday Lou! 
> 
> It was supposed to be a oneshot. I created the doc for the fic on 27th November 2020, however, due to my amazing time management skills, I haven’t finished the story. I really wanted to get it all done for your birthday, so it would be more impressive (lol), but at least have the first part. I will finish it, I promise. And you will have more time to tease me in between. 
> 
> Special thanks goes to amazing Soph, who boosted my ego and proofread this piece of "writing". Thank you!
> 
> A few comments to make the reading less confusing.
> 
> LSE stands for London School of Economics. I am following canon with a few creative liberties. Scratch that, I only used the name and totally made up everything else. No realism whatsoever.
> 
> Specialty coffee – is a term for the coffee of the best quality. It’s super delicious, it can be sweet, juicy or nicely acidic. And you can taste berries and fruits in such coffee without ANY sugar or syrups. Depending on where the coffee beans grew, they have different natural taste. For example, coffee from Kenya tastes like berries, it’s a little acidic. Coffee from Ethiopia tastes like sweet peaches and so on. To add sugar or syrup to such coffee is like mixing delicious expensive wine with juice or water. In other words Simon’s and Fiona’s snobbism is justified, trust me ;) 
> 
> Cupping – is a form of coffee tasting. It’s the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. That’s when you can taste all beautiful descriptors like strawberries, cherries, apples, grapefruits and so much more. 
> 
> The title is from Ed Sheeran’s song “Cold Coffee”, which kinda fits here, maybe.

"Sod off, I am not making it!" this git thinks he can just come here and order such atrocity!

"If you want to drink a fucking pumpkin mocha breve, go to Starbucks or make it yourself!" seriously, he should not be allowed to drink coffee at all!

"That’s not a way to talk to a customer, Snow. I’ll tell Fiona."

"Yeah, good luck explaining to her how you wanted to ruin her precious coffee beans this time." I leave Agatha to deal with him, because he pissed me off enough for one day, so I start washing the pile of dishes to prepare for the next rush hour.

I like this job a lot less, since that cocky twat came back from his semester abroad. It was great to not have to see his pouting face for six months. We’ve met at LSE football club trials during our first year at London School of Economics, and when I tried to introduce myself, he just stared at me like I was a complete idiot (Baz is very good at making me feel like an idiot). He never even shook my hand! It only went downhill from there. We argued over the smallest and pettiest things, sometimes it escalated to physical fights. After I almost broke his nose, the coach forbade us from talking to each other during practice. That’s when the pranks started. He and his mates tried to make my life miserable outside of football and Penny and I would always try to retaliate. It was kind of fun, to be honest. It all stopped, when he left for his semester abroad in France or somewhere. I wonder if he picks it all up now, even though I am no longer in the football team since I had to find a job to, you know, be able to afford food. The most ironic thing is that the coffee shop I work at belongs to Baz’s aunt Fiona who is the biggest coffee snob of the century and since he came back, he comes here and tries to order the most disgusting coffee drinks that we don’t even serve. Fiona is almost religious about the highest quality coffee beans and natural coffee taste, so adding sugar or syrups to coffee is considered a crime here. However, this manipulative cur charmed other baristas into committing treason and mixing up his horrible drinks. Like right now, Agatha is destroying delicious espresso on Ethiopian beans with milk and a bergamot mix.

I can’t stop from grunting and mumble "We don’t even have ingredients for this. It should be illegal!" Baz just smirks, picks up his to-go tumbler and leaves without saying a word.

\--

Today is the first day of the new semester and I am running late because I had an early shift. When I arrive to the class the only free spot is – surprise! – next to Basilton Pitch. What were the chances of us having a class together when I am majoring in economics and he is in something posh and pretentious like politics or whatever? My luck, I swear.

I sit down beside him and Baz doesn’t even acknowledge my existence, which is odd, usually he goes out of his way to show how much he hates my presence. The professor starts the introductory part of the class and I zone out for a bit. My nightmares are back, so I haven’t been sleeping very well lately and with early shifts it’s hard to stay wide awake, while listening to the professor’s monotone mumbling. My blissful stupor is disturbed with Baz’s outburst "Can’t we choose a partner for the presentation ourselves? We are not in the kindergarten anymore!" The prof shoots him down by saying that it’s all practical and he doesn’t have the time for the chaos of us pairing up as we wish and changing our minds and all that. Shit, am I stuck with Baz as a study partner? There is no way it will end well.

"We can do our parts separately and then combine them together," I lamely try to avoid being killed by the wanker on my second year of uni, only because we are incapable of being in the same room, let alone of working together.

"Yeah, and what exactly are you planning to work on, Snow? You haven’t been listening at all. You don’t know the topic, you don’t know what we are supposed to do. Crowley, I am sure you don’t even know the name of the subject."

"Fuck off, I know the name of the subject. I was listening!" I sputter angrily.

"Whatever, we share a grade for this, so I won’t let you fuck it up. We will meet at the Mummer’s house after your shift and work on it together," Baz spits through his teeth and returns to ignoring me until the end of the class.

Now I can’t even have some peaceful time from him at the coffee shop. Fucking splendid!

\--

I started working at the "Mummers House" last semester. Going to uni is a lot more expensive than I thought, even though Mr. Mage went out of the way to help me get the Care Leavers charity grant to cover the costs. He is convinced that good education is the only way to become a proper member of society. He was adamant about me getting a degree at economics and fulfilling my potential and after everything he’s done for our care home and me I can’t ever let him down.

I never really cared about coffee, it was just a job to stay afloat, until I can get something more solid. Fiona was so fierce during the job interview; I was scared to ask her any questions or to say something wrong. Her striking resemblance to Baz didn’t really help. Is making other people feel bad their family thing? Unlike her nephew, I quickly became Fiona’s favorite. She always turns into a different person when she starts talking about coffee, so all I had to do was just keep asking. She was so enthusiastic and inspiring in her endless rants about the coffee beans’ origin, processing, farmer’s unfair working conditions, coffee roasting and all the other nerdy details, that I haven’t even noticed when I started drinking black coffee only and judging people for putting sugar in their coffee drinks. It’s so ironic that her nephew is the worst coffee drinker ever and a twat, but apparently, I am the only one who sees it.

Baz is being a twat right now, "Are you done? Can you make me a peppermint white chocolate crème Frappuccino and an espresso for yourself? I don’t want you to fall asleep again as soon as we start studying."

"Starbucks is still around the corner. We don’t even make coffee with syrups and you know it."

"What a waste," he shakes his head. His hair falls into his face. He usually wears it up, it looks different today. It suits him.

I make him a cappuccino and we sit down at the table in the corner. I had a late shift, so the coffee shop is now closed. If this goes wrong, there won’t even be any witnesses.

Baz lays down his books and notes on the table, and opens his laptop. "So, I think the most logical thing will be to follow the structure of the presentation. We need to analyze the theoretical approaches first and then provide statistical data and practical solutions of the problem. Let’s start with reading up articles and books to review the theory."

"What was the topic again?" I ask sheepishly. As much as I hate admitting he was right, I really wasn’t paying attention.

"I fucking knew you weren’t listening!" Baz rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his coffee. "This is disgusting without sugar, by the way!" Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes as I stand up, grab some sugar and pass it to him.

"It’s "Economic inequality", Snow. Will you remember or should I write it down?"

I just grunt in response. I am so tired and I don’t have it in me to keep our usual arguing, so I simply ask what books we can use for the presentation. Surprisingly, Baz doesn’t try to rile me up more and we continue to work quietly, which I like more than ending every conversation in flames.

\--

"Penny, he’s been so weird, since he came back. He is quieter and doesn’t even argue that much. It’s very suspicious. What if he’s planning some evil prank again? I don’t have time for it this year." I look at the screen while I wait for the kettle to boil. I wanted to have some hot tea before bed. Between working and studying (well, at least trying to) I rarely have the time to hang out with Penny, so we started our little tradition of facetiming before we go to sleep.

Penny sighs hopelessly, "I didn’t miss the Baz talk even for a second. Maybe he finally grew up and wants to have a clean slate this year."

"I think plotting is more likely," I take the kettle and pour the water into my favorite LSE cup.

"Well, you’ve said it yourself you don’t have time for pranks, maybe you should try to be nicer to him. It can be good for you."

"What?! How?" this is ridiculous. I scowl at the screen.

"Baz is at the top of his class. He can help you get a better grade, you know. And you were struggling with your courses a lot last year, so getting a good grade definitely won’t hurt." I wasn’t just struggling, I barely passed. Only because Penny'd carried me on her shoulders the entire year.

"I hate it, when you are right," I go back to my room and sit against the wall on my bed.

"But I am always right," Penny smirks. "Just give it a try, Simon. You can always go back to arguing," she winks and ends the call.

\--

It’s been raining since the morning. I usually like working on such days, everything is dark, gloom and cold and the coffee shop is like a little island of warmth and coziness. But today waking up was a battle I’ve almost lost. I’ve been so anxious the last couple of weeks because of the courses load and worries about me getting enough shifts to cover this month’s expenses and all the papers I have to write. It’s hard to fall asleep even when I try to push it all away and stop thinking. I just roll around in my bed exhausted with no sign of sleep for half of the night.

All things considered it was a nice shift. We had a cupping in the morning and our guests could try coffee from different countries, and we had a very nice discussion about it, which gave me an idea for our presentation. So, I am in a good mood when Baz shows up for our study session and I decide to try being nicer to him, like Penny suggested.

"I am almost done. We can start in 10 minutes. Do you want anything?"

"I hate the damn bitter black coffee, but it’s freezing outside. I need something hot to warm up," Baz does look like a frozen wet rat, so I take pity on him.

"I can make you a ginger tea with lemon and honey, if you want?"

Baz narrows his eyes, "Why are you being nice all of a sudden?"

"Shut up, I can be nice! I am changing my mind about my _nice_ offer though," I huff and make him the damn tea anyway.

Baz still looks cold and miserable even after he drank his tea and warmed up. It’s such a stark contrast to his usually super confident "I am better than all of you" persona. It’s unsettling to see him like this.

"Are you alright?" I ask, as I finish my amazing filter on Kenyan beans. It’s one of my favorites. It tastes like cherries, almost like my all-time favorite cherry scones (I swear I could work at the coffee shop just for the scones without any other form of payment).

"Yes, have you looked up the article like I asked you to?" Baz just ignores my question.

"I haven’t had the time yet, but I will. I promise. By the way, I have an idea for our presentation. Do you think we could maybe connect economic inequality to coffee production and how salaries and living conditions of workers in the coffee-producing countries are unfairly lower compared to the profit and salaries of the coffee companies selling the final product? It could be our case study."

"It actually sounds very good. Didn’t know you were into this whole coffee is more than just a drink thing. Have you been spending a lot of time with Fiona lately?"

"Sod off. She is actually a very cool professional and has great ideas for improving the industry. I learn a lot from her."

Baz just hums in response. We keep quiet for a bit, but it’s a nice silence, it’s not loaded with any tension, just a peaceful co-existence. Maybe Penny was right and we grew up enough to be civil with each other.

I break the silence eventually, "You know, we don’t have to talk about the presentation all the time, we can talk about other things too."

"Why? I don’t recall the professor assigning us friends as well," well, maybe some of us didn’t grow up enough.

"Baz, I am kinda over the whole feud thing. I am really not in the mood for it anymore. And as it turns out we can get along."

"Yet to be proved," he sneers. Even if it is all irony, it’s his first smile for today, so it still counts. "But same. I also don’t want to fight anymore."

"So, truce?" I smile and offer him my pinkie.

He raises his eyebrows in surprise, but brings his pinkie over mine and says "Truce" and smiles for real this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this chapter and try drinking coffee without sugar ;)

Mr. Mage called yesterday. He kept going on and on about how important education is and how lucky I am to be in such a prestigious university and that I cannot fail, because the charity foundation needs good ratings for the funding. He hasn’t asked how I am doing even once. It’s all about image and appearance for him. I sometimes feel like I am just another success story for him. Even though I am far from it. I barely pass by. I have no idea what I am doing or why. But I still owe Mr. Mage. I have to try harder. I couldn’t fall asleep for hours after the phone call, spiraling over everything.

I am still on campus even though my classes for today are over. I finally have a free minute just to breathe without having to hurry up somewhere or being in two places at once. So I decide to go to the football pitch. It should be empty by now; the practice has ended a while ago. I feel a little bit nostalgic today. I miss playing football. I miss being a part of the team. I miss the games and cheering crowds. I even miss fights with Baz and how alive they made me feel. I feel like I grew up before I was ready and I miss being a carefree freshman. The team left one ball behind, so I take it and kick at the gates until my legs start to hurt.

\--

Today we are meeting at the library. I brought a small thermos with filter from the "Mummers House". 

"Do you want to try some? You look like you need coffee." Baz looks worse and worse with every time we meet. What the hell is happening with him? He is so pale with dark circles under his eyes. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a week. Your typical hipster vampire.

"I wish I didn’t have to, but let’s try your infamous coffee, Snow."

"It’s very good actually. These beans are from Ethiopia, so it tastes a bit like peaches. It’s sweet."

"Sounds fake but okay," Baz says as he tries the coffee. He immediately scrunches his nose. Even that looks attractive on him. How does he do that?

"Lies, Snow. It has nothing to do with peaches. It’s just very acidic. I don’t know how you drink that."

I shrug my shoulders, "You have to pay attention and focus on the taste. And then it will come naturally."

"I’ll stick to my disgusting frappuccinos and vanilla lattes," he says stubbornly.

"Not vanilla latte, you are such a cliché." I shake my head fondly. It’s cute. "All those broody black looks, but deep down you are a vanilla." Before he has the time to throw one of his snarky comments, I try again, "Are you really okay?"

Baz lets out a deep breath, "No. It’s just same old family drama. My father does not approve of certain parts of my life and I am too exhausted to keep justifying myself over and over again."

"Sorry to hear it, mate. I hope it gets sorted soon." I feel for him. Even though it’s in no way the same, but I feel like I have to justify myself with Mr. Mage all the time too.

"I doubt that, but thanks. You don’t look so good yourself lately. Are you alright?" He looks me in the eyes. Is it the lighting or were his eyes always so deep-watery grey? I feel like he can see right through me. It’s a little unnerving. I am not used to such attention.

"Too much of everything. I have to work a lot, so I can stay at school and I don’t have enough time to properly study. There is more than one way I can get kicked out of here. And I really, really can’t fail. I have to get a degree. It feels like I can’t enjoy anything properly. I can’t enjoy work, because I constantly worry that I will fail uni and I can’t enjoy uni, because I worry about the money all the time. I am just fucking exhausted."

"That’s tough. Fuck. I feel bad for starting our silly feud last year. I didn’t mean to add more trouble." Baz actually looks remorseful.

"You didn’t. It was mostly fun. Sorry about your nose, by the way. Didn’t want to ruin the masterpiece," I smile teasingly.

He rolls his eyes and smiles back tentatively, "I survived." We look at each other again and smile. "Alright, Snow. Should we finally get some studying done?" Baz says and starts his laptop.

\--

I finally have a day off from everything and Penny is busy today of all days. But I haven’t done anything fun and simple in so long and I refuse to stay at home and miss the opportunity. So I do something that even I don’t expect - I text Baz:

**Me: Hey Baz. It’s Simon. I know it’s probably weird, but do you want to hang out today?**

_Vanilla latte: Weirder things have happened lately, Snow._ _I am meeting up with the guys from the team soon to play around for a bit. Are you interested?_

**Me: Very!!! Send me the address.**

_Vanilla latte: Crowley, how many coffees did you have already?_

**Me: haha, funny. It’s my first day off in god knows how long and I don’t want to waste it.**

_Vanilla latte: Alright then. See you in a bit._

When I arrive to the pitch, Baz and the guys are already there. I didn’t have a chance to get to know Dev and Niall well when I was in the team last year, but they seemed alright.

"Snow, you have to help me destroy these morons, they’ve gotten too cocky lately," Baz is uncharacteristically goofy today.

"Because you absolutely have to be the cockiest twat in the room?" I shoot back. Dev and Niall laugh at my joke and Niall says, "Simon, we miss you on the team. Should we expect any broken bones from the two of you today?"

Baz rolls his eyes and smirks, "You two definitely should."

"Yeah. We will see about that!" Dev yells and takes the ball from Baz.

Baz and I play against Dev and Niall. It’s so much fun! We run around the pitch, screaming at each other and arguing over the rules and goals. Each game becomes dirtier and dirtier. Dev and Niall keep riling Baz up, which I’ve never seen before. Usually, he is the one who’s being obnoxious and always having the last word. He is like a completely different person today. He is so carefree and happy. He seems real. I like this Baz a lot more than his perfect unapproachable persona. I could be friends with this Baz and I want to be. I think I’ve seen him laugh and smile today more times than in the entire time since I’ve known him. This makes me wonder what other layers there are and how I can unravel them.

Eventually we are all out of breath, so we sit down on the bench near the pitch. None of us is ready to let go of the fun and freedom yet, so we stay and chat for a while after we are done playing. After some time, Niall and Dev have to go. It’s a pity, I wish we could hang out a little longer. I don’t really want to go back to my lonely cold room.

As if he’s read my thoughts (I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually could), Baz asks, "Do you want to go to the 'Mummer’s House' for a bit?" I just nod and we start walking in comfortable silence, which also surprises me. I never thought that Baz’s silent presence could be so comforting.

"I feel adventurous today," Baz suddenly says as we approach the bar at the coffee shop. "So, Snow, what kind of black monstrosity should I try?"

"Wow! I thought I would have to make you order black coffee. I had the whole speech prepared."

"Save it for Fiona. So, what’s your professional advice?" He looks at me expectantly.

"Definitely V60," I say without pausing.

"What the fuck is V60?"

"It’s basically a filter coffee. V60 is a special device for brewing," I say and point to the shelf where we keep them. "And we have cool beans from Indonesia. They taste like mango, you will like it." I say and then, "You know what, I’ll brew it."

"No, Snow! It’s your day off. No work allowed today!" he says adamantly.

"But the reputation of the entire black coffee is at stake! I want to make sure it’s done right," I don’t let him object and go to the stuff room to wash my hands and get ready.

He sits at the table in the corner, which already somehow became our table. He has a very disapproving look on his face the entire time I’m brewing our coffee. It is so funny. It’s Trixie’s shift today and she is very chill about the fact that I hijacked her workspace. She just stands at the counter with her phone, probably texting her girlfriend, which she does most of her shifts anyway.

V60 is my favorite way of making coffee. There are a lot of nuances you have to follow to brew a delicious cup, which makes it very personal. It’s like a small ritual. I go out of the way and pay a lot of attention to every step of the brewing to make everything perfect. I really want him to like this coffee. I make V60 for two, grab a few cherry scones and join Baz at the table.

"So, try to drink coffee more consciously this time. Try to look for a familiar taste as you sip the coffee, help your brain build associations with the taste of fruits or berries you’ve tried before," I explain as I pour the coffee into our cups and give him his.

"It’s just a damn coffee, Snow. Why make it so complicated?" he complains as he takes a sip of the coffee.

"I am surprised Fiona still talks to you after you say things like that. And, how is it?"

"I hate to admit it…" he makes an unnecessary long pause, (what a git), but then he smiles and says "But it’s actually very good. I don’t even want to put any sugar or cream in it to make it more drinkable." I feel my cheeks getting hot for some reason.

"That’s like the highest praise coming from you. Okay, maybe you are not as hopeless as I thought," I say as I bite into the scone to distract myself. "So how was your semester abroad? I am so curious what it’s like to live in a foreign country. Was it France?"

"Yeah, Paris. It was fun. I’ve sort of gone wild there and partied more than I’ve studied," Baz keeps drinking his coffee and he hasn’t even complained about the lack of sugar yet. It feels like a big victory.

"What!? You!? Perfectionist and control freak partying instead of nerding out in some library? Man, I wish I could have seen it." I shake my head and laugh a little.

"Shut up! I party here too! Just less often. A lot less," Baz says ruefully. "What have you been up to since I was gone?"

"Not much. I started working here, which is very cool but also a little exhausting sometimes. And when I am not working, I am studying and miserably failing at it."

"Come on, it’s probably not that bad," he takes a scone too.

"You have no idea."

"And what about Agatha?" Baz asks tentatively. Oh right, Agatha. We started going out around the time he left. It lasted only a few months. I was and still am in a place in my life where I don’t have room for a relationship. I didn’t want to be a horrible boyfriend, so we sat down and talked it out and we stayed friends afterwards, which I am very happy about. I like spending time with Agatha and didn’t want to lose that.

"Uh, we’ve dated for a couple of months, but with the job, uni and everything I couldn’t keep up with a proper relationship on top of all that. What about you? Any hot steaming romance in Paris?" I wiggle my eyebrows and smile widely.

Baz is taken aback by my question and… is that blush? Is he really blushing? Oh my god!

"Ahm, yeah, kind of," why is he so shy all of a sudden? "Part of the whole going wild thing, you know," he pauses and then takes a breath before he continues, "I had a boyfriend there for a while, but it wasn’t serious enough to try and keep a long distance relationship, so we amicably broke up shortly before my departure."

Huh, I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t know Baz was into blokes. I am so distracted by processing the new information that I don’t say anything immediately and Baz starts to look nervous. Shit, I clear my throat, "It’s cool. We have to have a night out together though. I can’t rest until I see party animal Baz first hand," I tease him a little to ease the tension.

He rolls his eyes, but he looks relieved, "No way am I putting myself into any compromising situations, Snow."

"Baz, come on! It will be fun!" I am about to bully him into agreeing to go out together, but I am interrupted by Fiona.

"What are you two doing together here? I will ban you from coming in on your day off, Simon," she points her finger at me.

"I am not working, am I? Is it prohibited to just chill here on my days off too now?" I shoot a glare at Baz, because he was about to open his damn mouth and snitch on me for brewing V60 for us, ungrateful bastard.

"What do you want Fiona?" He doesn’t seem to be very happy to see his aunt.

"I am going home and can drop the two of you off, if you want."

As much as I enjoy this, I still have shit loads of homework to do, so I’d better go home and study, "That would be great, actually. Thanks Fiona!"

We go out of the Mummer’s House and Baz silently goes for the front seat of Fiona’s car. He’s closed off as soon as Fiona approached us.

Before he can even open the door, Fiona stops him, "People who drink coffee with sugar travel on the backseat. The front seat is for people who appreciate coffee. Jesus Christ, Baz."

This is so ridiculous, that I don’t even say that he actually drank black coffee without sugar today and enjoyed it. Baz doesn’t say a single word during the whole ride, he just stares through the window on his back seat, so Fiona and I talk about what beans we should order next for the coffee shop and then we discuss a cool article I’ve read about one of the most famous roasters in the industry.

Today was one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time. I am even a little sad that it’s over so soon. I am so tired from all the emotions and impressions of the day, that I fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow. I sleep peacefully through the whole night without any nightmares.

\--

We are supposed to meet after my late shift again to work on our presentation. I am almost done, when I receive a text from Baz.

_Vanilla latte: Hey, Snow. I’ve caught a cold, but I don’t want to cancel our study session. There’s not so much time left and we still have things to do. Is it okay, if we meet at my place today?_

**Me: Are you sure? The world won’t end if we postpone it for a couple of days, you know?**

_Vanilla latte: Yes, I am sure._

**Me: Okay, I’ll be there as soon as my shift is done.**

I close the shift and make a ginger tea with honey and lemon; take a couple of cinnamon buns and leave to meet Baz.

"Baz, you’re wearing… sweatpants?" for some reason I am shocked that he doesn’t wear his posh, well put together looks at home.

"Yes, Snow," he sighs like he is bored, "what else am I supposed to wear when I am sick at home?" He looks so cozy, I could hug him.

"Oh my god! You are human after all! I can’t believe it! They are not even black!"

He rolls his eyes and goes to the kitchen, "Are you coming or what?"

I pull myself together and join him in the kitchen, "I’ve brought some tea and buns to ease your cold," I say as I unload the food on the table.

Baz just stares at the food with an unreadable expression on his face. "It’s just food, Baz."

"Yeah, right. Thank you, Snow," he recovers and takes two cups and puts them near the thermos with the tea.

"Baz, I am sorry, but I didn’t have the time to organize the coffee industry income graphs like we planned to."

"It’s okay. You can send it to me later and I will add it. Let’s work on potential solutions today."

We work for the next few hours. Baz is just as ruthless with a cold, as he normally is, so we study without any breaks because moving things to the living room after some time doesn't count as a break!

"Baz, I can’t do this anymore! Letters and numbers are just swimming in front of my eyes at this point. I need a break," I say as I rub my palms over my face.

"Fine, Snow, let’s take a break."

"Don’t be difficult. Not all of us are learning machines," I say and yawn.

"I said let’s have a break. Hearing is also glitching at this point?"

I roll my eyes, "So, do you live here alone?"

"Supposedly with Fiona," Baz leans back on the sofa, "But she never leaves her boyfriend’s place. She is like a fucking teenager who can’t get enough of her crush."

"I think it’s nice though. To find someone you want to spend all your time with." I stretch and lie down on the couch next to Baz. My back is killing me after the shift.

He looks at me, "Well, I wouldn’t know."

"It wasn’t like that with your boyfriend in Paris?"

He doesn’t say anything for a bit, "No. It was nice. It was very simple. At least the relationship part. The shit show with my father afterwards was not."

"What happened with your father?" I look up at him.

"It’s partly my fault. I paraded this relationship the entire time hoping that if I have a proper boyfriend, my father would start taking my queerness seriously, instead of pretending that it isn’t real like he always does. But it just made him super uncomfortable and now he makes me super uncomfortable in return. They still invite different girls in hopes of matching me up with somebody 'appropriate'. Family dinners are no fun." Baz looks exhausted.

"What?! Is he serious? This is fucking ridiculous!"

"Yeah, I am sure he would be totally okay with me ditching uni, joining a rock band or something and not carrying family business, rather than accepting me being gay," he adds flatly.

"Fuck him honestly!" I huff.

Baz chuckles and turns to me, "Enough of the misery for today, Snow. Let’s talk about something else."

"What was your mom like?" I ask before I can stop myself. It’s definitely not a very happy topic for him.

"I don’t remember her very well," Baz contemplates for a bit and then adds, "I remember her hands. They were always scratchy. She used to scuff my cheeks and tuck my hair behind my ears, when I…"

Baz is so different from what I’ve always thought of him. He is kinda amazing and not in the 'he is good at everything he does' kind of way, but the way he is right now, he is being real. It’s beautiful. His voice is so soothing and calm. I am so comfortable, warm and relaxed that somewhere along the lines I drift off and dream about something bright and happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading until the end! I don't believe somebody would, but you are a brave soul, if you did. I appreciate you. 
> 
> If you want to say hi, ask me to not write ever again, so I won’t ruin your favorite characters, ask me about coffee stuff or just chat, you can always find me on tumblr. It’s @the-obvious-unseen


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